Among all the people in the world of today's divisive leadership in religion, the likes of Retired Bishop John Shelby Spong are a rarity, indeed.

Spong, the author of several bestselling books, each an anathema to the Church, is a believer who places rationality above all else. This may sound strange, particularly to non-believers and agnostics, and to those who consider 'belief', per se, to be irrational. But, after reading his numerous essays and columns, several people - including those of other faiths and denominations, as well as unbelievers - agree that his approach is in total contrast to that propounded by the belching and bellowing fundamentalists currently at the helm of most religious affairs.

I'd suggest to those who are not familiar with Spong's work to surf the Internet for his writings. They are among the best essays available today, in terms of lucidity alone. [If you cannot access any of them, email me for a small sample selection I had once distributed among friends.]

The mere mention of Spong's name, among Evangelists and Catholic Priests alike, is enough to let loose a gushing flood of diatribe. This is, naturally, as expected. Spong's view of an 'errant' Bible (his latest book is titled "The Sins of Scripture"), his acceptance of the Theory of Evolution in opposition to that of Intelligent Design (a kind of Cloaked Creationism, named to make it more scientific sounding), and the negation of literal interpretations of the Old & New Testaments, would have been sufficient to earn him the wrath of the establishment. But Spong, not one to hold back his views, went even further by becoming an ardent supporter of women's rights, speaking out against the attitude of the Church on homosexuality, and vociferously criticising the Biblical punishment that requires society to kill all gays.

Condemning superstition, Spong wrote several pieces post-9/11 and post-Tsunami_2004, taking to task those religious (mis)leaders who had proclaimed these events to be divine punishments, meted out to innocent masses. He made matters far worse for himself by taking an anti-Bush stand on the Iraq War and, just when Democrats thought he was one of them, by taking Kerry to task for his lukewarm changing views.

Within the sphere of religious matters what Spong is engaged in, would, in the parlance of Islamic thought, be rightly called Ijtehaad - the current absence of which is, in all probability, the major reason the Muslim Ummah finds itself in a state of stagnation, confusion and directionlessness.

Joining hands with corrupt rulers - something that, by the way, is not exclusive to mullahs, for priests of all religions have always done this to grab whatever power they can - they strengthen the hands of those tyrants, in exchange, by inventing and falsely attributing sayings to Prophets and Saints.

Unwilling to accept their own ignorance and the consequent inability to adopt their outmoded interpretations to a world changing at an accelerated pace, Muslim religious leaders have, very cunningly, taken refuge in a variety of 'back to the basics' movements, with each one defining the 'basics' in the manner that provides him with the maximum benefits.

My use of the male pronoun in the preceding sentence is a conscious choice. For one, there are very few women religious leaders, primarily as a result of the age-old bigotry of self-styled Ulema echoing similar viewpoints that prevail among the high-priests of other religions and churches. For another, the few that do exist are divided between those that seek to re-interpret the Qur'an in a feminist perspective - a very small minority that, for the most part, has taken its cue from the women's movements in the West - and those who whole-heartedly and wilingly define themselves in terms of the traditional male perception. Among the latter are some that promote this self-effacement, even while 'seemingly' opposing it, as in the case of the numerous dars-giving scholars, who, funded by the Saudis, have begun to sprout globally.

Many of my Muslim friends, on being introduced to Spong's writings, have said that they are dismayed by the absence of even a single writer among them who couples the reformist approach of Spong with the credibility that he has established by his having been a bishop. While I cannot help but agree with them, I would like to use this opporunity and point them towards a source on the Internet, where, without doubt, some of the finest and most rational discussions (intermingled, of course, with the usual mumbo-jumbo) are taking place among Muslims. Visit altmuslim.com and see for yourself.

words of wisdom

Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind.These passions, like great winds, have blown me hither and thither, in a wayward course, over a deep ocean of anguish, reaching to the very verge of despair.
I have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy - ecstasy so great that I would often have scrificed all the rest of life for a few hours of this joy. I have sought it, next, because it relieves loneliness - that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable lifeless abyss. I have sought it, finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a mystic miniature, the prefiguring vision of the heaven that the saints and poets have imagined. This is what I sought and, though it might seem too good for human life, this is what - at last - I have found.
With equal passion I have sought knowledge. I have wished to understand the hearts of men. I have wished to know why the stars shine. And I have tried to apprehend the Pythagorean power by which number holds sway above the flux. A little of this, but not much, I have achieved.
Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens. But always pity brought me to earth. Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my heart. Children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people a hated burden to their sons, and the whole world of loneliness, poverty, and pain make a mockery of what human life should be. I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, and I too suffer.
This has been my life. I have found it worth living, and would gladly live it again if the chance were offered me.Bertrand Russell

The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum - even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there's free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate.Noam Chomsky

Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions.Albert Einstein

Each century seems to take on a particular character as we view it in retrospect. How will the 20th Century be remembered? My guess is that this dramatic span of 100 years will ultimately be marked not by computers or the Internet, but by the drive toward individual freedom, the breaking of human barriers of prejudice, and the opening of society to include all people.John S. Spong

DESIDERATA
Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.Max Ehrmann